Ontario goat milk producers will have the opportunity to chart the course for their future by participating in a “Producer Expression of Opinion” vote February 27-March 10, 2017. Ontario Goat (OG) is seeking official designation as an association of producers under Section 12 of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Act to become a permanent representative farmer organization.
Throughout 2016, OG has been working closely with producers, industry partners and goat milk processors on a long-term industry strategy and vision that will help the industry grow sustainably and realize its full potential.
“In all our consultations it is clear that everyone in the industry agrees we must have a representative organization with a permanent governance and funding structure in place before we can move forward on any other objective or priority” stated OG President Anton Slingerland.
The goat industry is one of the fastest growing commodities across Canada and specifically in Ontario which has over 52% of the national goat population and produces 79% of the overall goat milk. In fact, Ontario alone produces one-third of all the goat milk in North America. Several large dairy processors have also made recent acquisitions or investments into the goat processing sector.
“It is an exciting time in our industry and a lot has changed over the past couple of years” stated Slingerland. Slingerland points to the fact that large processors have come into the industry, more investment and processing capacity continues to be planned for Ontario and goat milk volumes continue to increase year over year. “I believe the industry is more than prepared to support this vote right now and the time has come for the industry to move forward together” he added.
OG is seeking official designation as an “association of producers” under Section 12 of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Act. This would allow OG to collect a mandatory licence fee on all goat milk marketed from licensed goat milk farms. This proposed licence fee is $0.005 per litre and is the same amount that goat milk producers have been paying since 2014 under a voluntary check-off agreement. There is no intention to collect a mandatory licence fee on non-licensed goat milk, goat meat or fibre at this time. OG is proposing that a voluntary membership structure will still be available for these specialized producers.
“For the past seven years, OG has demonstrated its value by addressing the needs of the industry through many key priority projects but we still need a permanent governance structure in place. There is a majority of producers supporting OG through the voluntary check-off but they shouldn’t have to subsidize the entire industry”, states OG Vice President Dirk Boogerd. “We need a fair and equitable way for all producers to be represented and to benefit from the work OG does. A Section 12 designation is the answer to help position us for the future”, he further comments.
Ontario’s goat milk processors have also demonstrated their support for OG by forming the collaborative Goat Milk Processor Advisory Committee in order to jointly address the priority issues impacting the growth of the Ontario goat milk sector.
The message is clear that in order for the industry to continue to grow and succeed in the current market environment there needs to be a dedicated official association for producers. There are several key priorities that need to be addressed like animal health and welfare, traceability and food safety, farm business management, consumer awareness, industry communications and research and innovation.
“The time has come where all producers need to stand on equal ground and collectively work together for the betterment of the industry” states OG Vice President Eldon Bowman. “It is time for our industry to come together and recognized alongside Ontario’s established commodity organizations and we are now calling on all producers to make this a reality by voting yes!” adds Bowman.
Source: Ontario Goat